Sully's Wedding Present
by GeneaLady
Summary: In the Washita episodes (3.24-.25), Michaela decides to give the wedding shirt she made for Sully's wedding present to Cloud Dancing. This fic tells of her search for another gift. It's mostly a missing scene fic, but the ending is slightly off-canon as Michaela & Sully's dialogue on the train differs from FBOFW. It ends with "It's getting darker" though.


**_Author's Note: The episode never mentioned any of Mr. Watkins' family, so I created a sister and nephew for him. I only own them._**

* * *

As she made a note in Horace's chart updating it with the details of his latest gout attack, Michaela sighed. She and Sully were to be married in eight short, or long depending on how she thought about it, weeks and she still had no idea what to give him for a wedding present. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She blushed at the thought of the very special gift she'd be giving him on their wedding night, but she also wanted to give him something tangible, just as he had so lovingly prepared their wedding bed... which would go perfectly with her much less tangible gift... With much help from Snow Bird, she had made him a Cheyenne wedding shirt, but gave it, instead, to Cloud Dancing after the Washita massacre as a token of thanks for his friendship and training in the ways of Cheyenne medicine.

Looking up at the clock, Michaela saw that it was time for lunch and decided to make a stop at Loren's to look at his special order catalog before heading to Grace's.

"Afternoon, Dr. Mike. You don't usually come in the middle of the day, what can I do for you?" Loren said, seeing her enter the store.

"Good afternoon Loren, I'd like to see your special order catalog," she replied.

"Sure thing," Loren replied, bending down to get the catalog from a shelf behind the counter and handing it to Dr. Mike.

Dr. Mike spent the next several minutes pouring over the catalog, but not finding anything worthy of the man she loved more than words could describe. That was; however, until she saw something on one of the final pages of the catalog. As soon as her eyes fell on the gold pocket watch, she knew it was perfect for Sully. It was true that he was very good at telling time based on the position of the sun, but with the traveling he was doing for his new job as Indian Agent, she thought it might be a good idea for him to have a back up plan.

"I'd like to order this watch, Loren, and I'd like it engraved please," Michaela spoke when she finally had made her decision.

Loren looked at the picture of the item she had chosen and commented, "That sure is a nice watch, ain't cheap either. Good choice, Dr. Mike, but then again you're used to all those fancy things in Boston. I'll get ya the form to write the inscription on."

"Thank you, Loren. Please don't tell anyone about this. This is going to be Sully's wedding present," Michaela explained.

"Don't worry, I won't," the shop keeper assured her and, for the first time, Michaela felt confident that Loren wouldn't run his normally gossipy mouth.

When Loren returned with the form, Michaela only had to think a moment before deciding on an inscription. When she finished, she returned the paper to him. Being the nosey man that he was, Loren couldn't help but sneak a peak at the inscription that she had chosen. Confused, he furrowed his brow as Michaela looked at him, wanting an explanation. Michaela; however, had no intention of explaining something so personal, so she simply pretended that she didn't notice his facial expression, paid him, and left.

* * *

As Michaela left Loren's store, an idea suddenly came to her for how could she could make Sully's gift even more special. Taking a detour back to her clinic before heading to Grace's, Michaela went to the drawer where she kept her patient records, pulled out the one she was looking for, grabbed some stationary and a pen, and made her way to the clinic.

"Afternoon, Dr. Mike," Grace spoke as she approached the table where Michaela sat.

"Workin' over lunch? That ain't normal, even for you."

Michaela chuckled, "Not exactly, Grace, I need to send a letter to someone in regards to Sully's wedding present and, since I don't want him knowing about it, I thought I'd take care of it today while he's out checking his traps."

"Good plan, that man's stuck to you like glue when he's around!" Grace playfully joked.

Michaela blushed in reply.

"So, what can I get for ya while ya work on the letter? We've got baked chicken and tomato soup," Grace informed Michaela of the menu.

As Grace spoke, Michaela's eyes lit up, "I haven't had tomato soup in ages! I'll have that."

"Comin' right up!" Grace said as she walked away.

While Grace got her food, Michaela penned the following letter:

_Dear Mr. Watkins,_

_I hope my letter finds you and your sister in good health. I am sorry it has been so long since I last wrote you. The reason for this letter is two-fold. First, Sully and I are happy to inform you that we are engaged to be married. The wedding will take place here in Colorado Springs on May 20th. Sully, the children, and I would be honored if you would attend with your sister and her family. We would also be appreciative if your nephew would take our wedding pictures, as you mentioned in your last letter that he as taken over your business. Second, I was wondering if you still had the plate from the photograph you took of our town. I am giving Sully a pocket watch as a wedding present, and would like to place the portion containing our family inside it. I was hoping that he could make and send me a copy of that section of the photograph for the watch. Thank you in advance._

_Fondly,_

_Dr. Mike_

When the letter was completed, Michaela opened Mr. Watkins' file and found the address for his sister in New York City, where he had moved when his eyesight became so poor that there was no way he could continue working, even with assistance. She addressed the envelope and set it aside as Grace brought her food.

"Got your letter written, Dr. Mike?" Grace asked as she placed the food in front of her.

Michaela nodded, "I just need to drop it off to Horace. This looks delicious Grace. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Enjoy," Grace said as she went to wait on another customer.

* * *

Once she'd eaten, Michaela walked to the telegraph office.

"Afternoon, Dr. Mike!" Horace greeted her. "You normally don't come get your mail in the middle of the day."

Michaela smiled, "I have a letter that needs to go out tomorrow, so I thought I'd drop it off before going back to the clinic."

Taking the letter, Horace glanced at the intended recipient's address and inquired, "Mr. Watkins, how's he doin'?" Horace asked.

"Unfortunately it's been quite a while since my last letter, so I'm not sure, but I hope well. He's definitely in the best of care."

"Aw, don't say that Dr. Mike. You're a fine doc."

Michaela blushed, "Thank you for your vote of confidence Horace, but Dr. Sanderson is the leading expert in Diabetes Insipidus."

Horace nodded. "That'll be three cents, Dr. Mike."

"Here you go, Horace," replied Michaela as she handed him the coins.

Taking the money, Horace turned to place it in his money box and then looked briefly through the packages he just finished sorting.

"Here's your mail," Horace said as he handed her a couple small packages.

"Thank you, Horace. Have a good day," Michaela said as she returned to work.

* * *

Six weeks later, Michaela was sterilizing a pair of tweezers she'd just used on Becky, who'd gotten a splinter in her finger at recess, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she replied to her visitor as she wiped her hands on a towel.

"Afternoon, Dr. Mike. Thought I'd bring your mail over for you," Horace said as he walked into the clinic.

"Thank you, Horace. I've had a busy day. I appreciate it," Michaela thanked him sincerely.

"No problem, have a good day," Horace replied as he walked out the door.

Walking over to her desk where Horace set the deliveries, Michaela began going through the mail. After a couple boxes of medications and other needed supplies, Michaela found a package from Denver and a large envelope from New York. Smiling, she set aside her medical supplies and opened the box first.

"Sully is going to love this," she thought as she looked at the watch and double checked to make sure that the inscription was correct.

Placing the watch aside, she reached for the envelope. Inside was a letter sized envelope and a cardboard folder; she read the letter first, which was in a woman's handwriting.

_Dr. Mike,_

_I can't tell you how happy I was to receive your letter and learn of your wonderful news. I'm glad that Mr. Sully finally took my advice. I wish you nothing but happiness; however, I must regretfully, but with great appreciation, turn down your invitation as I have another engagement that weekend. Enclosed, you will find the picture you asked for. I saved all my plates so it was no trouble at all for Gregory to make the copy for you. I think that is a wonderful gift idea and am now extremely thankful I was able to convince him to be in the picture._

_I am still under the care of Dr. Sanderson. Except for my loss of sight, I am in fair health. I am indebted to you for your referral. Please write again soon, it's always good to hear what's going on in the lives of the people I once photographed._

_Your friend,_

_Daniel Watkins_

_(Written by Monica Stoeger)_

Setting the letter aside, she looked at the photograph. As her fingers traced the image of her and Sully, her mind wandered back to that day. She certainly was surprised when he took his place next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder just a moment before Mr. Watkins took the photograph, especially considering their discussion on the bridge a few days before. Their first kiss on her birthday had remained undiscussed, so she was shocked when Sully, a man known for avoiding discussing his feelings, was the one to approach her about the subject. When he did, she was sad that he didn't feel like part of their atypical family and was not ready for a relationship with her beyond friendship. What could have happened between then and when the picture was taken for Sully to begin to have a change of heart? Now, she deduced that it must have had something to do with Mr. Watkins. What exactly did he say to Sully? More importantly, what did Sully say in reply? She pulled herself from her musings and returned her attentions to the photograph. No matter how they felt or what they had said, they both knew that they had been a family with the children since the very first Christmas after her arrival and the death of Charlotte... and soon, they would legally be a family as well.

* * *

The next two weeks passed quickly and Michaela and Sully were wed. The ceremony, in spite of her mother's forceful intrusions, had been everything she dreamed of and more. As a little girl, she had often dreamed of her wedding day, but she doubted that she would ever find a man that tolerated, much less supported and encouraged, her dreams of a career as a doctor. Even if she did, she never imagined he would be anything like Sully... but then again she never imagined he would be as wonderful either. Now on the train, they were (quite literally) on their way to beginning their new life together.

As soon as they stepped inside their private car after bidding their family and friends farewell, Sully claimed Michaela's lips in a passion filled kiss and her knees instantly went weak. She knew that she had to speak up soon if she wanted to do this before the passion of the moment grew anymore. "Sully..." she finally spoke when she stopped gasping for air.

"Hmm..." was his only reply as he leaned in for another kiss.

"I have something for you," she said, placing her hand on his chest to keep his lips from having their way with hers.

Sully mistook the meaning of Michaela's statement, leaned into her ear, and whispered seductively, "I know ya do..."

At his reply and the feeling of his hot breath on her neck, Michaela shivered. "Sully!" she blushed wildly. "That's not what I mean. I mean I want to give you your wedding gift. Your _real_ gift." She emphasized the word "real" for good measure to make certain Sully understood her.

"Now?" he asked, his voice a mixture of shock, disbelief, and disappointment.

"Yes, now," Michaela smiled at her husband, running the back of her fingers across his cleanly shaven cheek and kissing him softly on the lips before walking to one of her bags to retrieve a small wrapped box.

Sully opened the box to reveal the gold watch. "Oh, Michaela!" Sully exclaimed appreciatively.

"Open it," she prompted him.

Sully was puzzled. He knew what the inside of the watch looked like and, as much as he loved the gift, he really didn't want to spend any longer than necessary gawking at it right now. He had more important things on his mind. When he did as she had asked; however, he was greatly rewarded.

"'Chaela... I... I dunno what ta say..." Sully stammered, his voice uncharacteristically thick with emotion as he looked at the picture Michaela had chosen for the inside cover of the watch.

"As wonderful as today was and as happy as I am to finally be your wife, I wanted you to keep our first photograph as a family with you.

At a complete loss for words, he swept her up in his arms and kissed her with such passion that she was sure her lungs had become completely deflated.

When he finally released her and their breathing returned to normal, Michaela smiled, thankful that he enjoyed his gift. "It's engraved in the back," she spoke softly, allowing the focus of the moment to move from his display of emotions, something she knew he'd appreciate it.

Turning it over, Sully read:

_B. Sully: Father, Husband, Soulmate_

_Because, Michaela_

_May 20, 1870_

Immediately catching the meaning of the word "because", Sully couldn't help tearing up. "Thank you," he finally whispered when he found his voice. "I love you, too."

"I was hoping you'd understand the meaning," she said before leaning in to kiss him again softly.

"Of course," he replied when the kiss broke. "It's my favorite word."

"Really?" Michaela asked, surprised that it had more meaning for him than she even realized.

"Yep. 'Cause that one word is what started our relationship. An' it's somethin' we can say ta each other that no one else'll understand."

"How can anyone understand anything about our love, Sully? There are no words for what we share," she said, staring into his eyes as she spoke.

"I couldn't agree more. Now how 'bout my other gift?" Sully asked playfully as he picked up his wife in his strong arms and carried her to the bed that he had created for her... for them... for this moment...

* * *

_"Sully!" Michaela exclaimed, trying her best to hide her nerves (and excitement) behind a feigned tone of shock and disapproval. "It's not even dark yet..."_

_At her words, Sully pulled back and gave her a mischievous grin that made her want to launch herself at him immediately, "But it's gettin' darker..."_


End file.
